Digitalization is an actual issue and the main trend of Russian higher education and a widely discussed topic in the professional community. A number of government decrees and programs set a goal for universities — highquality and affordable online education using digital technologies. The article presents the study’s results of digitalization of education in Russia and abroad, indicating the initial stage of digitalization of higher education in Russia and the creation of a digital educational environment. Researches confirm the high need for digital education on the part of students and teachers, therefore, de facto, a lot of universities use digital technology in practice. However, de jure digitalization in higher education is not supported by conceptual provisions, uniform standards and management approaches. Exploring the opinions of target audiences confirms that a blended learning is the best option in the current situation. The advantages, disadvantages and conditions of digitalization in modern higher education are discussed in this article. The problems and main trends in the development of digital education in universities are pointed out too. Possibilities of micro and macro learning, popular online platforms are determined. The author concludes that the transformation of higher education in the context of digitalization is inevitable, fundamental changes are assumed in the content of education, teaching methods, technological approaches, resource support, in the system of knowledge quality control.
Read full abstract